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ASP Seminar: How to Prevail in a Defensive Encounter
Date: Nov. 15th
Time: 6pm - 9pm
Speaker: John Correia
Price: $59
This seminar will distill thousands of gunfights and other defensive encounters caught on surveillance video for the most significant attitude, skills, and plan that self-defenders need to focus on to prevail in a defensive encounter. This is an evidenced based approach to self defense that everyone can learn and benefit from.
Attention! Real Life defensive encounters caught on video that may be graphic.

Live Fire Training Day
Date: Nov. 18th
Time: 9am - 5pm
Price: $199
During the ASP Seminar, attendees learned what skills they needed in a defensive encounter and why. Live Fire Training Day is where we practice those skills on the range. The course will focus on defensive encounters where a gun is needed, rather than other skills, as we learn the Pareto Principle of Gunfighting.
This is not a basic pistol course. You don't have to have a high level of marksmanship to begin, but you do need to be self-sufficient and safe in all aspects of carry.

John isn't the most competent instructor I've taken courses from. He's got a massive youtube following for what is essentially gore porn for the uninitiated; and tries to use this to shoehorn in the assumption that his commentary over YouTube clips is somehow supplemental to his knowledge on surviving a lethal encounter. If 'celebrity gunfighter instructor' is a mark you're looking to cross off of your list of teachers, this is not one worth the cost. I also take issue with how he treated a couple of the people in the course I was in. The YouTube celebrity persona was in full and strong effect.

If I were to grade the course it would be a 4/10. Nothing to see here from someone whose experience is confined to YouTube videos who has convinced everyone except himself that he has any credentials worthy of teaching anyone how to survive a fight of a life or death situation. You'd do better to train with a pellet gun in your backyard and take a women's self defense course.

I attended the lecture portion of this class only and wasn't able to attend the live fire portion because of my work schedule. I'd guess there were 50 or so people in attendance.

The lecture was three hours long and he packs a ton of information into it. A bunch of that information in this class is available for free if you follow his YouTube Channel or interviews such as this one with Mike Seeklander. In fact, I'd guess you'd get 80% of it by listening to that podcast. This lecture distilled the lessons learned from watching tens of thousands of CCTV and police bodycam videos of attacks.

The lessons learned are unlikely to surprise anyone here and they parallel a lot of what Tom Givens has been teaching. At least in the lecture portion, John seemed less gun-centric than Tom (which is not a critique of either, different audience), as this lecture was intended to include those that may not be interested in carrying a gun.

This lecture looks at violent attacks for what they are. It looks at how people respond, what successes looks like and what failure looks like. It helps to optimize our training for what typical violent encounters. John recognizes that there are more dedicated VCAs, but I think he would argue that we should be training for the routine criminals primarily and then work our way up to less common, more dedicated problems.

Who's it for? I'd say anyone, regardless of skill level.
-I think this is the target demographic for this class is as a first class for someone intending to carry a gun at home or in public. It's for someone who just got my CHL and looking for the next step. This would be an excellent next step. I think it would make a great prequel or supplement to a Combative Pistol class.
-Anyone with an interest in personal protection, regardless of whether or not they intend to carry a gun. John definitely encourages people to carry a gun, but I think people who choose not to carry also benefited from this class. John does a good job of including that audience.
-For YOU: In ones sense, I think these kinds of classes help most of us keep on track. Pareto Principle and all, classes like these help experienced and well trained shooters to keep the main thing the main thing. Rangemaster Combative Pistol, John Murphy's classes, HiTS First Responder classes are similar in this regard.

These lessons are widely available in free space, so I don't think he'd have a problem with me sharing my notes. Again the lessons won't be new to this community.

Lessons:
-Carry a gun.
-Most gunfights are not entangled. LE sees more entangled problems than CCW. But, entangled skills are critical for those assaults that don't rise to the level of deadly force.
-Attacks are almost always in "transitional spaces." T.S.s are designed to keep people moving efficiently through them so they facilitate surprise and easy escape paths.
-The victum is always at an initiative deficit.
-Awareness buys you time, time buys you options.
-Whenever possible, outsource your gunfight. (call the cops)

Observations
-Typical range echos to Tom Givens finding of 1-2 car lengths.
-1/3 include multiple attackers
-Attackers tend to be cowards when they encounter resistance.
-CCW encounters are usually over in 5 seconds.
-First shots on the "meaty bits" usually wins. Peripheral hits don't count.
-A lot of video of empty chamber carry gone wrong.
-Never seen a CCW lose the use of hand. Seen plenty where CCW fought single handed because he failed to drop object or otherwise had hand occupied.
-Concealment and Cover are functionally the same for CCW. Bad guys rarely shoot through concealment.
-Never seen anyone "TAP" to clear a malfunction.

I'm sure there were others, but these are what I wrote down.

John has an impressive training resume. He's trained with the who's who in the industry and has a bunch of instructor certs. He doesn't pretend he made any of this up and gives credit to the people he "stole" material from. He doesn't claim to be anything he's not. This is evident in his online presence too.

Speaking of online presence, his main YT/FB/IG feed are worth following, even if you don't watch every single thing. I probably watch one or two of his 5 minute videos a week and see a lot of the same things. It helps me keep the mindset awake.

Negatives: I don't have any strong complaints and certainly none about John's portion of the lecture. The event was sponsored. The sponsors themselves had 5 minute little promotions and prizes after the breaks, which wasn't bad, but one of the Frisco Gun Club's instructor got up and took up a half hour of class time to babble on about the sponsor's product. I get it, ya got to make your money, but that seemed excessive and annoying.

ETA: Disclosure-y type stuff: I and my website have NO financial affiliation with John Correia, Active Self Protection or any other instructor. My website is designed to promote training and I'm sure ASP will be added to the website once we get moving again, but I have no intention of be paid by any of my instructors, including ASP.